Friday, January 14, 2011

Making Music Meaningful

Imagine if you will, a gaggle of 8-10 enthusiastic parents gathered in a circle. All are women with the exception of one slightly bemused young man. Each parent proudly holds a bouncing baby. Some are jumping around. Some are babbling.  And then there are the babies!  A teacher who is literally bursting with positive energy leads the group. She seems to only have the ability to speak in verse, rhyme and song. And sing she does! Louder and louder which inspires the parents to lift, tickle and dance their charges to the heavens.  What is this madness?!

Hahaha let me just say, "what a morning"!  I attended my first music and baby class, which was held in the basement of a United Church in Ottawa. I really feel like I caught a glimpse of a world that few fathers ever see.  I think I did a pretty good job at adapting though. The trick is to embrace the silliness and joy of the occasion.  Once you do, you will literally be unable to stop smiling.  If you don’t believe me, try saying the following with a straight face (the words in brackets are actions only):
There was a little bunny
Sitting in the sun (hop with one hand on child’s knee)
When the dog said “WOOF, WOOF” (two little jumps on child’s knee)
He made the bunny run! (tickle)
Needless to say, Margot had a lot of fun.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t think of a good way to say “can I take a photo for my blog” without coming across as a total psycho, so you’ll have to settle for a photo of the venue instead.


However, for those of you who are suffering from Margot withdrawal here are two music-related photos, which I have convinced myself are sufficiently relevant to today’s topic.


4 comments:

  1. My favourite little spark is looking like a natural at the ivories Simon...perhaps there's hope that she won't become a pirate afterall ;) Glad you enjoyed the class...

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  2. She can be the pirate organist :)

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  3. Hehe, I love your description of the class Simon but I think we should refrain from looking closely at the stupid way we act around small child too often. We all do it, we all enjoy it, then we should just not mention it as we sit around in the evening supping wine and discussing the latest Coen brothers' film x

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  4. Thanks! I actually have a slightly different view though! Some of the shenanigans I get up to with Margot are so fun and over the top that it would be a crime not to talk about them! As long as it’s not mean-spirited, I think laughing about it just keeps the silliness alive a little longer…

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